Basic Halberd (Xind'ell, self-mod)

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Time Stamp: 6th Brightening of Imperos.
Spring of the Year IX, In the Age of the Darkening
(Timestamp authorized by GM Blueberrykitty )

The fabled, long sought-after day had come. Finally, Riconus Xind'ell was going to get the training he had so long yearned for ever since he was a little boy and watched his father swing around various weapons in a fashion that Riconus had viewed as almost a delicate art. So beautiful, yet so dreadfully deadly when weilded correctly... Hence why she had snooped out some training of her own and begun to presue being able to do as her father did. Though, he had already acquired valueable training in the longsword, now was the time that he could finally focus on the weapon that grabbed the most of his attention- The Halberd.

What it was about that wooden polearm adorned with a sleek, metal axe-head and a pointed tip, weighing a good amount due to it's size of six feet that Riconus loved, he himself was never able to put a definate finger on it. Perhaps it was the size.. Or the combonation of weaponry as he saw it. It was versitle, and could do a deal of damage... not to mention gave the look of ferocity when coupled with a suit of fine armor.

Whatever the reason would be, it certainly was apart of the reason Riconus was now ready for his training and approaching the field designated for such, prepared and ready. His beloved polearm was with him as she walked towards where her class would begin. He unfortunately hadn't bother to look at the name of the instructor, so really Riconus had no idea who he was looking exactly for out here.. Well, hopefully they were told that he was an elf. How hard would it be to miss the new student, especially if she stood out like a sore thumb, being almost seven feet in hieght? With his eyes glancing around her, he continued his pace slowly towards the field, curious to see if he could even find out where this supposed class of his was going to take place.

[Riconus Xind'ell]

As Riconus walked out towards the field, a woman could be seen standing just inside the tree line, a halberd of her own leaning delicately against one of the trees. Her long black hair had been tied back into a ponytail and her amber colored eyes waited intently for the student. She pulled the long brown leather gloves she was wearing, tightening them on her small hands, then fastened the belt that had been hanging on one of the branches to her waist.

"Serale!" the woman said with a smile as Riconus came closer. "You must be my newest student. My name is Claudia...." she said extending her hand....

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Finally, the would be teacher had been sighted. Riconus' elven eyes fell on the halberd leaning against a tree and the woman beside it. Seeing this was one of the only people he had come across with a halberd, it was natural for the Syl'rosyan to assume this was his would be instructor. Hopefully, he was correct in that assumption.

As Riconus approached, he heard the woman call out to him in greeting when she had finished putting on what looked to be gloves and a belt, after pulling her hair back into a pony tail. Must be her newest student, eh? This had to be the right person.

When he had finally come to rest a few feet from the woman who apparently was named Claudia, Riconus reached out to shake the offered hand in greeting and returned the verbal part, as was common curteousy.

"Serale aswell, Claudia! That I would be, or atleast we would hope so, seeing as I see no one else out here looking to be so readily skilled in such weaponry. Riconus Xind'ell, Ma'am."

Claudia. Riconus took this name to note in his complex brain, and associated it with deserved respect.

[Riconus Xind'ell]

"Riconus, well it is nice to have finally met ye." Claudia replied with a touch of an accent. "Readily skilled, eh? We shall see about that." she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "Let us start by asking some questions, get to know each other a bit, since we will be training for a time. I will go first, when did you first realise you wanted to train with a halberd?"

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Questions... Ah, it was always good to know the reasoning behind why the weapon was chosen, Riconus supposed. Besides, this question didn't require much thought.. Halberds held her elven eyes so readily from a young age that the reasoning was well drawn out and etched into the nuero pathways of his mind. His father, and his various staves and polearms... Explaining how much better they were than swords. Yes, polearms and staves were Azreal Xind'ell's preference on weaponry, and almost all of what Riconus grew up around. It was time to make that verbal to Claudia.

"Well," Riconus began, orgainizing his thoughts quickly, "My father's favorite choice in weaponry were staves and polearms. I grew up around them, and as the parents give way for the beliefs of the offspring more times than many, I started taking a liking to them. But it isn't because of my father that I realized I wanted to train with a halberd, but he did help swing my view in that general direction."

Riconus paused to rearrange a few thoughts in his head so they came out right, silent for a few moments.

"A friend of the family's choice of weaponry was a halberd. He took time to show off a bit for me, to which I, as a child, enjoyed profusely. I've always wanted from that point on to be able to do just half of what he was able to do there... I'd probably be right to gather that he was rather talented in fighting with it, if what he had been doing was just a bit of easy practice as he told Father." Commented the Syl'rosyan, and then shrugged. "But anyhow, as I said.. I've always wanted to weild that weapon after I saw him practice with it. It captivated my choices and thoughts, and there hadn't been a day in my childhood for a long while that went by without atleast one thought to it."

This wasn't too hard. Perhaps it was his turn to ask a question first before they began? It seemed plausible, she has said 'she would go first'. Clearing his throat after a long pause to show the explination had ended, Riconus watched Claudia for a moment to see if she had any responses. If Claudia said nothing, Riconus would ask,
"Might I inquire how long you've been with the academy and training with a halberd?"

[Riconus Xind'ell]

"Aye, sounds like the Halberd had caught you from the beginning. It's quite understandable, it's a very powerful weapon when used correctly." Claudia commented. Her amber eyes looked over the weapon in Riconus' grasp, and short memories flew through her mind, bringing back younger days and the first time she held one in her hands.

After a moment of silence, she looked over at Riconus and waited to see if she had any questions; then heard one of the more frequent questions...

"Might I inquire how long you've been with the academy and training with a halberd?"

Claudia smiled and picked up her Halberd from the tree which it lay against. "I have been with the academy for some time....I took a few classes here when I was a bit younger and then returned to teach when I was of an old enough age. The Halberd is something I have only picked up in the last few years though. Like you, I saw someone else weilding one and it caught my attention." she smiled again as her mind went back to that day when she had first seen one in action. Snapping back after a moment, she gazed over at Riconus saying, "Are there anymore questions or are you ready to begin?"

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Riconus inclined his head as he listened to Claudia give her own answers and reply to Riconus' statement of how it caught her eye. Apparently him and the trainer had been enthralled by the weapon in the same way. Perhaps that would give a mutual spot of reference for them to get along at. It was interesting to see such, but also comforting in a sense.

The inquiry of if there were anymore questions pulled Riconus from the depths of his thoughts, returning his attention to his instructor, Claudia, and making her aware of everything around her once more. Thinking for a few moments, Riconus idly wandered through his mind in search of anything else he'd like to ask. Some things were just mild curiosity, but nothing else seemed pertent to their training.

Riconus shook his head and smiled while announcing her contentment with the current answers and questions that had been asked. He was eager to get going, and quite frankly there was no time better than the present.

"I have no more questions at the time. I'm ready to begin when you're ready to begin instruction." said the Syl'rosyan tenatively, but with solidity. To think, finally, this would be getting under way! The joy was almost too much for the elf to contain.

Memories flashed before his eyes like the reflection of the suns in the blade of a sword or axe. Watching others practice with the weapon in his grip, cheering and clapping. It was all there as if it had happened yesterday, or if as he was watching it on the big screen of his mind's eye. He was now finally ready.

[Riconus Xind'ell]

“We will start with the basics, as every class does. First, how we hold our weapon.” Claudia moved the halberd from hand to hand as she pulled on her gloves again. “This is a weapon ya want to hold tightly, if ya do not have a good grip, it will either fly out of yer hands, or take ye with it. Yer stance is just as important. The legs need to be firmly planted on the soil; about shoulder width ‘part.” Claudia pointed at her own legs, “they’re steady. See my hands… one on the top, to give direction. One on the bottom to keep the balance.”

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Riconus paid careful attention the way Claudia was holding the halberd in her hands. A firm grip. Yes, that made sense. This weapon wasn't anything close to 'light', so the momentum could take you with it if you didn't know how to stop it properly, and doing so required a good, well learned grip. Legs shoulder width apart. That also seemed simple enough, but then again, how hard could holding a weapon be? Not too difficult. After all, people who have no training are able to weild certain weapons, even if it isnt very well. Slowly, to make sure the distance was as percise as the elf could make it, Riconus slid his legs shoulder width apart and made sure they were planted in the soil firmly.

Taking another glance at Claudia, Riconus mimicked how her hands were on the weapon. One hand on top, his left, and one on bottom of it, his right. It seemed right to put them in this order, but whether or not it mattered didn't seem releveant. If it was, surely her instructor would tell him. The grips, after all, were there for the exact reason of giving traction for the weilder to hold onto.

Satisfied with the mimick of his instructor's stance, which Riconus was currently trying to allow his muscles to memorize, the Syl'rosyan looked back up to Claudia and paused a moment before asking...

"Is this correct. Claudia?"

He dared not move, even if the spacing on his feet began to bug him or feel wrong. He would get used to it, seeing this stance would likely be the basis of all he did with the polearm in his hands. All that was left now was to await the corrections, if any, of her instructor and see what was next. Perhaps this was going to be easier than Riconus thought

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Claudia stood for a moment, looking over the elf's stance. Circling Riconus, she continued to look him over, coming to the backside of her body.

"Yer legs arn't stiff enough. I should be able to hit ya from behind and ya would be standin still." Claudia got down on her knee while talking and pushed on Riconus' legs, causing the Syl to stumble forward a little. "People will be coming at ya from all yer sides in a battle, ya have to be able to stand an attack from any of them. Rico, ya have it, it just needs ta be tweeked a wee bit. Now," Claudia got back on her feet and grabbed her Halberd again. She moved to stand directly in front of Riconus, holding her weapon. "We are goin' to work on yer blocking next. Very basic but much needed skill. This is where some of my students mess up. Yar going to keep yar feet planted like I shewed ya to an I'm goin to swing, slowly at first, then a bit faster when ya get the hang of it."

Raising her weapon, Claudia slowly brought it diagonally across, starting at her right shoulder and going down toward her left side...

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Making a mental note that his legs needed to be stiffer, Riconus nodded to the constructive critism and tightened his calf muscles and shifted slightly to make sure his center of gravity was positioned squarely over his hips after he recovered from the stumble that was caused by her mentor.

Then Claudia had said they were working on blocking next. He was to keep his feet firmly planted.. That was a given, as he needed to oppose the attacker's force. At such a rather close distance, and with the same weapon being used as being wielded, Riconus decided that it was going to be best to meet the attack with the pole of his own weapon, though as close to the metal axe as possible. That way, it would likely not leave any prolonged damage that would impede future use..
This was just a guess by the elf on how to properly parry though, seeing he was only told that her feet were going to stay in the same place. It was what she had thought she'd remembered from watching as a child anyway. Hopefully this was right.

Riconus would then try to catch Claudia's weapon with his own in the spot he thought was correct, and basically stop the weapon from moving any closer. The muscles in his arms tightened to help force the strength into de-accellerating the weapon to nothing, as well as his calf and other leg muscles tightening to help keep his feet firmly planted like Claudia had told her to do.

Hopefully this plan and assumption on how to rightfully parry the attack would work well. If not, well Diana's grace was that he wouldn't get injured badly or something before Claudia had a chance to correct him.

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Claudia knew exactly how to swing her weapon in order to not hurt someone on the other side should they miss. Her swings came slow and steady, being blocked shakily by Riconus. Claudia swung a few more times to get a feel for how Riconus was doing, then stopped and stood her Halberd against the tree again.

"Yure doin well, ya learn quickly." she said with a reassuring smile, "Jus' a few things I noticed. Yure a bit too stiff, but that is to be expected. It will come naturel to ya soon enough. Work on not thinkin' 'bout what yure doin' so much. I cen see the wheels turnin' in yure head." she laughed.

Moving behind Riconus, she tried to put her hands around the large elf but came up short. "That won't work..." she mumbled mostly to herself. She ducked under the Halberd Riconus still had in his hands and positioned her body between the weapon and her student, her hands over Riconus'.

"Let me show ya somethin'. If ya can get it standin' still, then ya will be able ta master it movin'. This part of yure stick needs ta make contact wit' almost the same spot on mine." she said, pointing to a spot about half way up the pole. "The faster ya block my hit, the better chance ya have of not bein' hit." Claudia guided Riconus through a few blocks so he could get the feel for them, then ducked back under the Halberd to go retrieve her own. "Let's try it again..." she said swinging her Halberd, this time from right to left...

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Nimbility. Allowing the muscles to keep themselves ready, yet not so tight they cause a potential problem due to being too stiff. That was simple enough. Riconus soaked it up like a sponge, savoring in every word of his instructor, for the knowledge in these words were going to make him great - something he hadn't seen anyone be with a halberd for a long time.

Riconus watched his instructor duck under her halberd and took note of what she was saying and showing him. The same part, or there around, needed to connect with the oppisite weapon. Simple enough to understand, and plausible to say the least. It was all making sense, which was a rather pleasant thing for the Syl'rosyan. Claudia had guided him through some blocks with her own hands, and Riconus tried to get the feel of how this felt in his hands so it would become quicker and more natural to her. Muscle memory, of course, seemed to be the key in anything one did. If you lifted a box, your muscles remembered how to tighten to give you support to do so. When you open a door, your muscles tightened to give your fingers a grip on the knob and helped you turn. Just allowing 'muscle memory', or the quick second nature occurances to make an attempt at being remembered by the brain, Riconus paid close attention from the moment Claudia began to the moment he let her go once more.

It was a matter of seconds it seemed before Claudia said they should try once more. He wasn't going to get it until he could preform it correctly anyways, so Riconus was all up for another try at this whole blocking thing. Claudia's swing came from his right to her left this time. Trying to react as quick as possible, but still keep her head so she knew what she was doing, Riconus made an attempt to block it as Claudia had given him pointers on. The same, upper part of the pole trying to connect with Claudia's, his muscles a bit looser and more flexible so he wasn't so stiff, and not thinking so much - just doing. Hopefully, he was going to improve on this, as hard as he wanted to get it right. With experience comes better knowledge.. What better way to learn then to have a giant polearm coming at your head.

[Riconus Xind'ell]

Claudia swung the polearm a few times; Riconus' pole connecting with hers everytime, still shakey though.

"Yure doing wonderfule Riconus. Ya catch on very quick. Keep practicin' with yure blocks, either wit me or someone else and ya'll have it solid shortly. Now, ya know how to block a hit coming straight on ya, what about one from yer side?" Claudia arched an eyebrow, waiting to hear what Riconus' thoughts were.